Moving to Dallas - Any help/info/recommendations on apartments would be great! (Irving: rentals, house)

[kazyn]

Alrighty, so I recently got a job in Uptown Dallas and we're looking for apartments.

Some of our requirements are:

Between $600-$700/mo rent
We have one cat
We need 1bed/1bath with a den or 2bed/1 bath probably (depends on sq. ft)
I'd like it to be within 15-20 minutes (non-traffic) from work

Does anyone have any suggestions? We are new to Dallas and we do not know the neighborhoods at all.

We have researched apartments around the area for days online but it is very difficult to figure out which reviews are correct, which pricing is correct, etc. so if we could find someone with an insider's opinion that would help us out.

We went to Dallas yesterday (2 hr commute currently) and visited 9 apartments. We are interested in Chesapeake on Audelia and also Triden Village on Midway. When we viewed these they were nice (not perfect, but for the price, nice) but when we got home to read reviews we were pretty floored.

I'm assuming that the reviews are mostly comprised of people who got angry at the facility for one reason or another and had to vent....people that are happy with a product or place generally don't review it unless it makes them mad. Is this a correct assumption?

Thank you for any suggestions or feedback that you can give!

[Smito]

Considering your budget, anything in uptown would not work for you. At your price range, The Village apartment community is your best bet. Your commute would be 15 to 20 minutes. Within the Village community look at The Meadow, Chase, The Gate, The Bend and The Bend East apartment communities.

[kazyn]

We aren't really looking to live in Uptown, I figured it would be far out of our range (hell, the gas there is even $.30-.50/gal more expensive). I was told Addison would be good because we could hop on the toll road and be in uptown in 30-40 minutes in traffic...which would be nice.

Thank you for your suggestions! We looked at their site and it seems like they're a little over our budget. We don't need anything super nice, hopefully 750-800+ sq. ft (one bath is fine, we don't need two).

Have you heard anything bad about Chesapeake or Triden? We are going back up to Dallas on Saturday to re-check some of these places and possibly a few that we haven't seen yet.

Thanks again for your reply

[TurtleCreek80]

Oy- the two apartments you zeroed in on are NOT in the best areas. Especially Audeilia.

Agree with PP. You should be able to find an older apartment the Village (near 75 & Lovers Lane) within your budget. I knew a guy paying $550 for a 1 br there as recently as 3 years ago.

It's a safer area, closer to much more stuff to see/do/eat and waayy closer to your job (10 minute commute to Uptown- with side streets options if 75 is backed up).

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by kazyn

We aren't really looking to live in Uptown, I figured it would be far out of our range (hell, the gas there is even $.30-.50/gal more expensive). I was told Addison would be good because we could hop on the toll road and be in uptown in 30-40 minutes in traffic...which would be nice.

Not being snarky- if your budget is so tight that $.30/gallon (est $4.00 per fill-up) is going to bust your budget, I would HIGHLY SUGGEST avoiding anything involving the Dallas North Tollroad. From Uptown to Addions is approx $4/day in tolls.

YOu may also want to look in East Dallas, near WHite Rock Lake. Fun, laid-back neighborhood. Power Properties has a lot of buildings, including some smaller four-plexes where people really get to know their neighbors. You may also want to drive around the M Streets/ Henderson Avenue area looking for "by owner" rentals with signs in the yard. Also check along East University Drive just south of the Village (south of Lovers Lane & 75) for affordable rentals in a good, safe neighborhood near work.

[Dallas native]

Ditto TC80's suggestion about cruising around the M Streets and the side streets off of Henderson. There are quite a few older apartment buildings 1930's - 1950's) that don't have to do much advertising simply because they are so well located. A sign in the yard or a post on Craigslist is how they rent their apartments. Their is one smallish apartment building in the 5200 block of Milam (2 blocks east of US75 and 1/2 block south of Henderson) that has a 1BR for lease. The flyer says it is $695. Also check on Homer St. just north of Henderson. On the west side of US75 there are some older apartment buildings on McKinney Ave. and on Cole that might have something in your price range. The ones I'm thinking of are just a few blocks south of Knox St. Sorry, don't know the names. Any of the above streets are within walking distance of the many restaurants/bars/retail along Knox and Henderson (it's the same street, but the west side of the freeway is called Knox and the east side is called Henderson).

In another part of town, you might also check these properties in the Bishop Arts District. This is about 2 miles SW of Downtown Dallas: Good Space- Bishop Arts District Dallas Living Working

[kazyn]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Oy- the two apartments you zeroed in on are NOT in the best areas. Especially Audeilia.

Agree with PP. You should be able to find an older apartment the Village (near 75 & Lovers Lane) within your budget. I knew a guy paying $550 for a 1 br there as recently as 3 years ago.

It's a safer area, closer to much more stuff to see/do/eat and waayy closer to your job (10 minute commute to Uptown- with side streets options if 75 is backed up).

I have read that Audeilia is not very secure, haven't heard much on Midway other than there was a SWAT team or something there a while back along with a murder...scary but hey, there are murders all over Waco.

Thank you for your knowledge. I will surely check that out.

Also what is PP?

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

Not being snarky- if your budget is so tight that $.30/gallon (est $4.00 per fill-up) is going to bust your budget, I would HIGHLY SUGGEST avoiding anything involving the Dallas North Tollroad. From Uptown to Addions is approx $4/day in tolls.

YOu may also want to look in East Dallas, near WHite Rock Lake. Fun, laid-back neighborhood. Power Properties has a lot of buildings, including some smaller four-plexes where people really get to know their neighbors. You may also want to drive around the M Streets/ Henderson Avenue area looking for "by owner" rentals with signs in the yard. Also check along East University Drive just south of the Village (south of Lovers Lane & 75) for affordable rentals in a good, safe neighborhood near work.

No snarky-ness detected It's not that I can't afford a 30 cent increase (it would hurt, but I could. I fill up 3-4 times per week on 26 gal tank), it was just a comparison to say that it is more expensive than I'd prefer. It's definitely a nice place and I'm sure it's worth it if I could afford it, but alas, I do not want to chew on ramen all the time

I will take into consideration the cost of the tolls. I wasn't thinking it'd be that much. I was thinking maybe a buck a day.

We will surely check some places in Eastern Dallas. I have some family in Irving (not CLOSE family but family nonetheless) and they seem to like the area for the most part.

Originally Posted by Dallas native

Ditto TC80's suggestion about cruising around the M Streets and the side streets off of Henderson. There are quite a few older apartment buildings 1930's - 1950's) that don't have to do much advertising simply because they are so well located. A sign in the yard or a post on Craigslist is how they rent their apartments. Their is one smallish apartment building in the 5200 block of Milam (2 blocks east of US75 and 1/2 block south of Henderson) that has a 1BR for lease. The flyer says it is $695. Also check on Homer St. just north of Henderson. On the west side of US75 there are some older apartment buildings on McKinney Ave. and on Cole that might have something in your price range. The ones I'm thinking of are just a few blocks south of Knox St. Sorry, don't know the names. Any of the above streets are within walking distance of the many restaurants/bars/retail along Knox and Henderson (it's the same street, but the west side of the freeway is called Knox and the east side is called Henderson).

In another part of town, you might also check these properties in the Bishop Arts District. This is about 2 miles SW of Downtown Dallas: Good Space- Bishop Arts District Dallas Living Working

Craigslist! Duh! I didn't think of that. Thank you for that suggestion, I bet there are some leads there for sure. Thank you for the link as well.

Thank you everyone for your help so far. If anyone has any other info or insight please lay it on me

[unherdable]

Originally Posted by kazyn

We will surely check some places in Eastern Dallas. I have some family in Irving (not CLOSE family but family nonetheless) and they seem to like the area for the most part.

Old East Dallas is east of 75 (definitely not Irving))... and very close to Uptown. I second the notion of looking for an apartment in an old house in this area... your quality of life will be very good, very close to many fun areas, and very close to Uptown with no reliance on highways.

Other than that, as someone who moved to the area from another state (and another country before that) and has had apartments all over..... I would say stick to the fun parts (Uptown / East Dallas and in a pinch, Addison), and drive around looking for "for rent" signs. There are some incredible places available at good rates.

[unherdable]

Originally Posted by Dallas native

In another part of town, you might also check these properties in the Bishop Arts District. This is about 2 miles SW of Downtown Dallas: Good Space- Bishop Arts District Dallas Living Working

another excellent suggestion, especially in light of the amazing transformation that is going to happen with the trinity corridor in the next couple of years. But that commute across the bridge will be a ***** until then.....

[kazyn]

Originally Posted by unherdable

Old East Dallas is east of 75 (definitely not Irving))... and very close to Uptown. I second the notion of looking for an apartment in an old house in this area... your quality of life will be very good, very close to many fun areas, and very close to Uptown with no reliance on highways.

Other than that, as someone who moved to the area from another state (and another country before that) and has had apartments all over..... I would say stick to the fun parts (Uptown / East Dallas and in a pinch, Addison), and drive around looking for "for rent" signs. There are some incredible places available at good rates.

Understood Thank you